


Rocketship

by CatOfLello



Series: Witcher Writing Prompts [6]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Zerrikania
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-03-09 06:37:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13475802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatOfLello/pseuds/CatOfLello





	Rocketship

A crowd had started to gather at the edge of a small city in Zerrikania. The crowd was made up of families and bored travellers, some caught up in wonderment and full of awe, others just waiting to see a man blow himself to bits. A local madman had convinced himself that if he strapped forty-seven rockets to a chair he could fly himself to the moon. Two witchers stood at the back of the mass waiting to see how this event would unfold.  

‘So, you think he’ll do it? Old man Hu will really make it to the moon?’ the tawny-haired witcher asked the young curly haired witcheress.

‘I don’t think so. Probably just going to be a lot of smoke and a man with burning drawers’ drawled the witcheress.

‘He’ll do it! He’ll make it to the moon!’ cried a little boy hopping up and down excitedly in front of them before being told to turn around by his mother and to stop pestering people.

The two witchers turned to each other struggling to keep themselves from laughing. It had been Aiden’s idea to come watch this debacle. “How often do you get to see history in the making? Or at least some good fireworks?” he had said when they spied the posters plastered on the stone walls of the main square.

Old man Hu approached his flying machine, his yellow flowing robes and greying hair gave him the appearance of an ageing pile of straw. He motioned to the chair strapped with fireworks pointed upwards towards the seat before he spoke.

‘Today, with this machine I shall be the first man to touch the moon. I plan to touch the surface and feast on its astral cheese’

‘There’s no cheese on the moon you old coot!’ shouted a rough looking man covered in tattoos.

The old man took no notice and bowed to the crowd before settling into the seat. He waved goodbye the onlookers and motioned to his assistant, a rather young lad with a large nose, to light the fuse. A silence fell, the only thing that could be heard was the hissing of the fuse. The pair of witchers covered their sensitive ears with their palms.

With a loud bang, the flying machine shot straight into the air, leaving a trail of smoke and flames behind it. The crowd cheered and clapped until the machine began to fall in a sideways dive heading straight for the river. Their cheering turned to cries of horror with the odd bit of nervous laughter. Aiden grabbed Aleksandra by the sleeve of her white shirt and began running towards the bank of the river, they waded through thick reeds and lotus blooms to reach the place where they had seen the chair fall into the water. Small bits of burnt wood floated on the surface. Aiden dived in followed closely by Aleksandra, they searched the murky water for what seemed like an eternity, surfacing periodically for air but they found no corpse. Just bits of wood and burnt pieces of yellow clothing stained with blood.

When they emerged from the river, some of the crowd had gathered near the water's edge anxiously awaiting news of the fate of the would-be space traveller.

‘Well? Did you find him?’ a woman wearing red called

‘No, just bits of wood and some clothing’ said Aiden

The woman’s eyes widened in shock. She turned to the crowd ‘He’s done it! Mr Hu was made it to the moon! May he feast on its glorious cheeses!’ she shrieked joyfully through her tears. Aleksandra furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to speak but Aiden touched her arm and shook his head.

‘Let them believe what they want, they’re going to make up a story so they can live with the fact that no one stopped him’ Aiden said lowly so she could only hear.

‘But-’

‘Not this time. Leave it be’

****************

Later that evening the two witchers sat in their room slurping bowls of beef broth. Aleksandra sat her bowl down and cast a downwards look at the ornate surface of the table before looking up at her mentor.

‘Why didn’t we stop him? Doesn't that make us just as guilty as the others? We watched a man blow himself, literally, sky high. We could have stopped it" said Aleksandra barely above a whisper.

Aiden set down his bowl and looked at the young woman with a serious look. ‘What is a witchers purpose?’ he asked stenly.

‘To kill monsters’

‘Exactly. It’s not our place to save people from themselves. Interfering in matters that don’t concern you is a great way to put a price on your head. And besides had he not done it today, he would have tried another day and the results would have been the same. Don’t worry yourself about it. Now...’ he stood, stacking his bowl into hers and pushing a letter on the table towards her ‘it’s time to go to bed. We’re heading back to the North at first light. No one is left to pay the price on our heads. It’s time we go home’

The thought of the old man flying through the air had completely left her mind and had been replaced with pure joy as she read the letter. Home, finally they were going back home.


End file.
